Small manufacturing companies throughout the Finger Lakes Region will get a boost from recently announced funding that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said could create thousands of jobs across the state.
Gillibrand has announced that $1,367,000 in federal funding will go to the New York State Foundation for Science Technology and Innovation to strengthen and grow New York’s manufacturing industry.
The funding will be allocated to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program under the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“New York’s manufacturers powered us through the 20th Century, but have been among those hardest hit by these difficult economic times,” said Gillibrand.
“We cannot rebuild our economy without helping our manufacturers upgrade and compete in the new economy.”
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program provides resources to help small and medium-sized businesses retool, expand or establish homegrown manufacturing operations through access to information, training and technologies that improve efficiency and productivity.
“This money allows us the resources to develop the MEP services in two areas: actively matching New York technology with New York manufacturers and assisting those manufacturers in designing and prototyping products made from these new technologies,” said James S. Senall, president of High Tech Rochester.
The funding will support the hiring of two experts to address these two goals, one who will work with The Center for Economic Growth in Albany and another who will work with High Tech Rochester, said Mike Haugh, managing director for manufacturing at High Tech Rochester.
The organization, based in Henrietta, covers the Finger Lakes region. The funding will allow it more opportunity to assist its clients — small or mid-size companies with fewer than 500 employees — to develop their projects, said Haugh.
Consultants from High Tech Rochester work with the companies or help them find experts in their fields to develop business strategies, seek out product and marketing opportunities and train them in manufacturing technologies. They also help companies seek out grants.
